Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Recently, Chelsea and I finally got around to going on our Honeymoon. A VERRRRRY long time ago, we decided that when the day came, we would go to New Zealand for said honeymoon. When I tell folks where we went, I get one of two replies:

"Cool!"

or

"Why New Zealand?"

To answer that question, there are a few reasons. One is that New Zealand is gorgeous. Another is that we wanted to take an active vacation (the idea of laying out on a beach and doing nothing for a week is pretty close to my own personal idea of hell) and there are lots of adventures to be had in NZ, and the final and most important reason? Well, there's a story there.

In September of 2002, Chelsea and I started dating at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. I wasn't really looking for any sort of serious relationship as I knew that in September of 2003, I was going to move to Chicago, Illinois to pursue improv comedy. Over the course of the next two months we dated, and we fell in love. But, as this wasn't supposed to be a serious relationship, and as it was a relatively NEW relationship, I was hesitant to say "Chelsea, I love you".

In November, I went out and bought the DVD boxed set of the extended version of "The Fellowship of the Ring" because I loved the movie so much, and because I wanted to get ready for the sequel "The Two Towers" which was coming out at the end of the month.

One fateful night, Chelsea came up to my dorm room, which was on top of a hill with a stunning view of campus, and the rest of the Pioneer Valley, to watch, not the film itself but the appendices on the DVDs.

The appendices were all of the extra stuff- making of stuff, interviews with the directors, etc.

Maybe it was the Moon (which was full), but that night we both declared our love for one another, and for the first time, we decided that some day, we would journey to New Zealand- the filming location of the Lord of the Rings trilogy when we had the money to do so.

After nearly 10 years of waiting, and saving, it seemed an appropriate way to celebrate our relationship.